What’s your best travel/vacation tip?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A tip I learned on this forum: When traveling to Europe, book your first hotel/apartment/whatever in the first city starting the night before you arrive, so you can check in immediately upon arrival (assuming you take a red eye to Europe). Having to putz around for hours while you’re exhausted, waiting until 3 or 4 pm to check in, sucks.
Make sure everyone in your party uses the bathroom before getting into the passport control line, and maybe grab a bottled water on the way if you can. Last March in Rome, we waited well over an hour in line. In Paris this past April, the wait was over two hours!

You better let them know what you are doing, or there is a good chance you will arrive and your reservation was canceled and they gave your room away when you didn't show up. Even when you do let them know what you are doing, this can happen.

Alternatively, bring an outfit to change into plus a small face cleanser and washcloth (or even an individually wrapped piece of sterile gauze) in your carry on. When you arrive at your hotel and they tell you to wait until check in time, ask for a place where you can change your clothes. I just did this at our hotel in Europe last month. They let me use the changing rooms in the hotel spa and they even offered to let me use the spa showers. If I’d had flip flops and if DH wasn’t waiting for me I would have taken that shower. But just washing my face and changing my clothes made me feel so much better. Then we ate lunch at the hotel restaurant while we waited for check in. Next time I will bring flip flops and ask DH to start lunch without me and I will take them up on that shower offer. The hotel was holding our large checked luggage and I was so glad I had a dress and change of underwear in my carryon (a small duffel).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A tip I learned on this forum: When traveling to Europe, book your first hotel/apartment/whatever in the first city starting the night before you arrive, so you can check in immediately upon arrival (assuming you take a red eye to Europe). Having to putz around for hours while you’re exhausted, waiting until 3 or 4 pm to check in, sucks.
Make sure everyone in your party uses the bathroom before getting into the passport control line, and maybe grab a bottled water on the way if you can. Last March in Rome, we waited well over an hour in line. In Paris this past April, the wait was over two hours!

You better let them know what you are doing, or there is a good chance you will arrive and your reservation was canceled and they gave your room away when you didn't show up. Even when you do let them know what you are doing, this can happen.

Alternatively, bring an outfit to change into plus a small face cleanser and washcloth (or even an individually wrapped piece of sterile gauze) in your carry on. When you arrive at your hotel and they tell you to wait until check in time, ask for a place where you can change your clothes. I just did this at our hotel in Europe last month. They let me use the changing rooms in the hotel spa and they even offered to let me use the spa showers. If I’d had flip flops and if DH wasn’t waiting for me I would have taken that shower. But just washing my face and changing my clothes made me feel so much better. Then we ate lunch at the hotel restaurant while we waited for check in. Next time I will bring flip flops and ask DH to start lunch without me and I will take them up on that shower offer. The hotel was holding our large checked luggage and I was so glad I had a dress and change of underwear in my carryon (a small duffel).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A tip I learned on this forum: When traveling to Europe, book your first hotel/apartment/whatever in the first city starting the night before you arrive, so you can check in immediately upon arrival (assuming you take a red eye to Europe). Having to putz around for hours while you’re exhausted, waiting until 3 or 4 pm to check in, sucks.
Make sure everyone in your party uses the bathroom before getting into the passport control line, and maybe grab a bottled water on the way if you can. Last March in Rome, we waited well over an hour in line. In Paris this past April, the wait was over two hours!

You better let them know what you are doing, or there is a good chance you will arrive and your reservation was canceled and they gave your room away when you didn't show up. Even when you do let them know what you are doing, this can happen.

Alternatively, bring an outfit to change into plus a small face cleanser and washcloth (or even an individually wrapped piece of sterile gauze) in your carry on. When you arrive at your hotel and they tell you to wait until check in time, ask for a place where you can change your clothes. I just did this at our hotel in Europe last month. They let me use the changing rooms in the hotel spa and they even offered to let me use the spa showers. If I’d had flip flops and if DH wasn’t waiting for me I would have taken that shower. But just washing my face and changing my clothes made me feel so much better. Then we ate lunch at the hotel restaurant while we waited for check in. Next time I will bring flip flops and ask DH to start lunch without me and I will take them up on that shower offer. The hotel was holding our large checked luggage and I was so glad I had a dress and change of underwear in my carryon (a small duffel).

You can also book a day room at an airport hotel for this. It's nice to be able to get off the plane and go to a room and shower and change. You need to resist the urge to sleep though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On traveling with young kids….do it if you want to do it, but they won’t remember much/. They might remember a particular slide or an animal or one thing you ate. My four year old adored Costa Rica but now a decades later does not remember any of it.

I don’t think early travel really makes them better travelers in the long run — those of you with good travelers that are older probably would have had good travelers anyway/. A lot of it is genetic. Also if your kids were bad travelers (eg didn’t sleep well at night) you probably would have stopped. So you didn’t create good travelers — you just lucked out with them. We traveled a ton when my kids were little but my oldest (now an adult) is just not an avid traveler due to sleep and dietary issues. And I never traveled as a kid because my parents didn’t have the money but I am a great traveler and was pretty much immediately that way as soon as I was able, because my personality type is just laid back, like to try new things and I have no sleep or dietary issues.

I do think early travel can help kids develop interests that will sometimes stick with them. So a kid that takes a great hiking trip at 6 might discover a love of it that causes them to hike more at home and get really into nature. Or a kid might develop an interest in animals or history or something that sticks with them. Like any kind of learning, it’s good for brain development even if it doesn’t stick with them.

All of this is perfectly reasonable but so often when people discuss traveling with young kids the question is whether the kids will remember anything. Another perspective: I don’t care what they remember, if anything. I will remember it! I want the experience of traveling with my kids and seeing the world with them. I want my memories to include the fun places we went together and the experiences we had. My kids are now late teens and we have been traveling together since my youngest was a few months old. We have had years of amazing experiences, I remember all of them and they remember the later ones or funny snippets from the earliest ones. It is all worth it.

+100. Also, its easier to plan longer vacations before the kids hit HS. DH and my main splurge is travel, I would have regretted waiting till kids turn 7 to travel with them. So many missed travel opportunities for us personally. We are not getting any younger and then in college kids will also want to travel with their friends and SO. So really, travel when you can. Travel for us is not a dollar optimizing strategy. If they can't remember London, hopefully they earn enough to go back there again. Plus travelling with younger kids is cheaper, you can fit into one room, lots of stuff is free for kids in Europe, in some resorts children under 12 eat free, airlines have discounting prices for kids etc. All this is of course if you can afford it. If it's a once in a lifetime trip to London, then you may be better off waiting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On traveling with young kids….do it if you want to do it, but they won’t remember much/. They might remember a particular slide or an animal or one thing you ate. My four year old adored Costa Rica but now a decades later does not remember any of it.

I don’t think early travel really makes them better travelers in the long run — those of you with good travelers that are older probably would have had good travelers anyway/. A lot of it is genetic. Also if your kids were bad travelers (eg didn’t sleep well at night) you probably would have stopped. So you didn’t create good travelers — you just lucked out with them. We traveled a ton when my kids were little but my oldest (now an adult) is just not an avid traveler due to sleep and dietary issues. And I never traveled as a kid because my parents didn’t have the money but I am a great traveler and was pretty much immediately that way as soon as I was able, because my personality type is just laid back, like to try new things and I have no sleep or dietary issues.

I do think early travel can help kids develop interests that will sometimes stick with them. So a kid that takes a great hiking trip at 6 might discover a love of it that causes them to hike more at home and get really into nature. Or a kid might develop an interest in animals or history or something that sticks with them. Like any kind of learning, it’s good for brain development even if it doesn’t stick with them.

I fully disagree with the concept of judging the worth of something to young children by their actual memories of it. Early travel experiences broaden young minds so that they understand that there are different ways of living. Obviously this applies to travel to actual places, not like Disney. But the value of early education is not that you remember the lessons explicitly, it is that they are burned deeper into you and your understanding of the world.

Spot on. I mean with this logic why not lock them in a room until they “remember” things? Why have a 3rd birthday party? Why visit grandma? Experiences feed the soul. If nothing else, I will remember it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It could be literally anything, just the one bit of advice you give to others. It could be location-specific, relaxation-specific, transportation-specific, packing-specific, etc.

What’s that one tip or piece of advice you just have to share?

I’ve traveled a LOT.

Always pack less than you think you need and give yourself plenty of time.

This is on point. I am not one to pack a larger than average amount of stuff, and I still end up never wearing it all.

I always end up wearing everything I pack. Maybe I’m packing less than I think I am.

[Anonymous]

I’m lucky because I’m not very tall or heavy, so I pack light by buying most of my clothes at low cost stores in the countries I’m visiting, and then give them away when I leave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On traveling with young kids….do it if you want to do it, but they won’t remember much/. They might remember a particular slide or an animal or one thing you ate. My four year old adored Costa Rica but now a decades later does not remember any of it.

I don’t think early travel really makes them better travelers in the long run — those of you with good travelers that are older probably would have had good travelers anyway/. A lot of it is genetic. Also if your kids were bad travelers (eg didn’t sleep well at night) you probably would have stopped. So you didn’t create good travelers — you just lucked out with them. We traveled a ton when my kids were little but my oldest (now an adult) is just not an avid traveler due to sleep and dietary issues. And I never traveled as a kid because my parents didn’t have the money but I am a great traveler and was pretty much immediately that way as soon as I was able, because my personality type is just laid back, like to try new things and I have no sleep or dietary issues.

I do think early travel can help kids develop interests that will sometimes stick with them. So a kid that takes a great hiking trip at 6 might discover a love of it that causes them to hike more at home and get really into nature. Or a kid might develop an interest in animals or history or something that sticks with them. Like any kind of learning, it’s good for brain development even if it doesn’t stick with them.

I fully disagree with the concept of judging the worth of something to young children by their actual memories of it. Early travel experiences broaden young minds so that they understand that there are different ways of living. Obviously this applies to travel to actual places, not like Disney. But the value of early education is not that you remember the lessons explicitly, it is that they are burned deeper into you and your understanding of the world.

Spot on. I mean with this logic why not lock them in a room until they “remember” things? Why have a 3rd birthday party? Why visit grandma? Experiences feed the soul. If nothing else, I will remember it!

I don’t care if they remember things. It is just a pain in the neck traveling with kids under 6 and you can have more fun visiting family who will provide free babysitting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It could be literally anything, just the one bit of advice you give to others. It could be location-specific, relaxation-specific, transportation-specific, packing-specific, etc.

What’s that one tip or piece of advice you just have to share?

I’ve traveled a LOT.

Always pack less than you think you need and give yourself plenty of time.

This is on point. I am not one to pack a larger than average amount of stuff, and I still end up never wearing it all.

I always end up wearing everything I pack. Maybe I’m packing less than I think I am.

I wear mostly everything. I like to have one item that's fresh for the final travel day ie being on a plane for hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On traveling with young kids….do it if you want to do it, but they won’t remember much/. They might remember a particular slide or an animal or one thing you ate. My four year old adored Costa Rica but now a decades later does not remember any of it.

I don’t think early travel really makes them better travelers in the long run — those of you with good travelers that are older probably would have had good travelers anyway/. A lot of it is genetic. Also if your kids were bad travelers (eg didn’t sleep well at night) you probably would have stopped. So you didn’t create good travelers — you just lucked out with them. We traveled a ton when my kids were little but my oldest (now an adult) is just not an avid traveler due to sleep and dietary issues. And I never traveled as a kid because my parents didn’t have the money but I am a great traveler and was pretty much immediately that way as soon as I was able, because my personality type is just laid back, like to try new things and I have no sleep or dietary issues.

I do think early travel can help kids develop interests that will sometimes stick with them. So a kid that takes a great hiking trip at 6 might discover a love of it that causes them to hike more at home and get really into nature. Or a kid might develop an interest in animals or history or something that sticks with them. Like any kind of learning, it’s good for brain development even if it doesn’t stick with them.

I fully disagree with the concept of judging the worth of something to young children by their actual memories of it. Early travel experiences broaden young minds so that they understand that there are different ways of living. Obviously this applies to travel to actual places, not like Disney. But the value of early education is not that you remember the lessons explicitly, it is that they are burned deeper into you and your understanding of the world.

Spot on. I mean with this logic why not lock them in a room until they “remember” things? Why have a 3rd birthday party? Why visit grandma? Experiences feed the soul. If nothing else, I will remember it!

I don’t care if they remember things. It is just a pain in the neck traveling with kids under 6 and you can have more fun visiting family who will provide free babysitting.

I guess if you have uncool kids that you don’t enjoy spending time with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m lucky because I’m not very tall or heavy, so I pack light by buying most of my clothes at low cost stores in the countries I’m visiting, and then give them away when I leave.

Yeah ... I'm not spending time shopping for stuff to wear while on vacay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On traveling with young kids….do it if you want to do it, but they won’t remember much/. They might remember a particular slide or an animal or one thing you ate. My four year old adored Costa Rica but now a decades later does not remember any of it.

I don’t think early travel really makes them better travelers in the long run — those of you with good travelers that are older probably would have had good travelers anyway/. A lot of it is genetic. Also if your kids were bad travelers (eg didn’t sleep well at night) you probably would have stopped. So you didn’t create good travelers — you just lucked out with them. We traveled a ton when my kids were little but my oldest (now an adult) is just not an avid traveler due to sleep and dietary issues. And I never traveled as a kid because my parents didn’t have the money but I am a great traveler and was pretty much immediately that way as soon as I was able, because my personality type is just laid back, like to try new things and I have no sleep or dietary issues.

I do think early travel can help kids develop interests that will sometimes stick with them. So a kid that takes a great hiking trip at 6 might discover a love of it that causes them to hike more at home and get really into nature. Or a kid might develop an interest in animals or history or something that sticks with them. Like any kind of learning, it’s good for brain development even if it doesn’t stick with them.

I fully disagree with the concept of judging the worth of something to young children by their actual memories of it. Early travel experiences broaden young minds so that they understand that there are different ways of living. Obviously this applies to travel to actual places, not like Disney. But the value of early education is not that you remember the lessons explicitly, it is that they are burned deeper into you and your understanding of the world.

Spot on. I mean with this logic why not lock them in a room until they “remember” things? Why have a 3rd birthday party? Why visit grandma? Experiences feed the soul. If nothing else, I will remember it!

I don’t care if they remember things. It is just a pain in the neck traveling with kids under 6 and you can have more fun visiting family who will provide free babysitting.

I find traveling to see family the most stressful kind of traveling we do with our <6 DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On traveling with young kids….do it if you want to do it, but they won’t remember much/. They might remember a particular slide or an animal or one thing you ate. My four year old adored Costa Rica but now a decades later does not remember any of it.

I don’t think early travel really makes them better travelers in the long run — those of you with good travelers that are older probably would have had good travelers anyway/. A lot of it is genetic. Also if your kids were bad travelers (eg didn’t sleep well at night) you probably would have stopped. So you didn’t create good travelers — you just lucked out with them. We traveled a ton when my kids were little but my oldest (now an adult) is just not an avid traveler due to sleep and dietary issues. And I never traveled as a kid because my parents didn’t have the money but I am a great traveler and was pretty much immediately that way as soon as I was able, because my personality type is just laid back, like to try new things and I have no sleep or dietary issues.

I do think early travel can help kids develop interests that will sometimes stick with them. So a kid that takes a great hiking trip at 6 might discover a love of it that causes them to hike more at home and get really into nature. Or a kid might develop an interest in animals or history or something that sticks with them. Like any kind of learning, it’s good for brain development even if it doesn’t stick with them.

I fully disagree with the concept of judging the worth of something to young children by their actual memories of it. Early travel experiences broaden young minds so that they understand that there are different ways of living. Obviously this applies to travel to actual places, not like Disney. But the value of early education is not that you remember the lessons explicitly, it is that they are burned deeper into you and your understanding of the world.

Spot on. I mean with this logic why not lock them in a room until they “remember” things? Why have a 3rd birthday party? Why visit grandma? Experiences feed the soul. If nothing else, I will remember it!

I don’t care if they remember things. It is just a pain in the neck traveling with kids under 6 and you can have more fun visiting family who will provide free babysitting.

I guess if you have uncool kids that you don’t enjoy spending time with.

If you want us to believe that you enjoy every minute of time with your kids because they are "cool kids" ... well, we don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I bring a nightlight and (document) clips to keep the blackout curtains from letting in light.

Same on the document clips!

[Anonymous]

If traveling overseas, I buy shampoo/body wash/toiletries there. I love seeing what the French or British or other drug stores carry.

Also I save up older tennis shoes, good enough for walking and looks, but I throw away before heading home and use the space to pack what I've bought.